Since the weather seems to be stuck in arctic mode and we’re still living on various cold remedies, I’ve been busy playing with the web site.

First we’ve got another couple of pages of Henry’s Hints. The first page is just about keeping cats off the vegetable plot. It’s a combination of Henry’s original posts and some of the replies, making it the most comprehensive guide to keeping your rodent control operatives from going to the toilet where you don’t want them to.

The next page is about defeating the slug, harvesting carrots in sandy soil and planting early in spring.

All good sound advice, as usual from our mkhenry. It never fails to amaze me how much knowledge our forum members have and how happy they are to share it with others.

Talking of forum members, I asked in my last newsletter if anybody had any articles they would like published. I had a response from maxsalad or Stephen Watts as he is also known. He kindly sent some articles for the site and I’ve got the first three up. The Allotment - The City Dwellers bit of Country introduces to his Allotment Journey and A Step to Sustainable Living a nd we finish off with his Allotment - Some Tips to Get You Started.

Still on the articles from our forum members, well known for his sage advice and sense of humour is our Muntjac. He wrote a really funny, I mean side splittingly funny, piece on taking on a new allotment. It was originally written in an obscure Suffolk dialect known as Muntish but I’ve translated it into more easily understood English.. You Have an Allotment!

Back in the vegetable growing guides section, I’ve added how to grow radishes to the brassicas section. Radishes may not seem difficult to grow but even the humble radish benefits from a bit of know how. It takes a while but the guides are building up.Growing radishes

I’ve also moved all the container growing articles into one section. This is part of my master plan to make it easier to find things on the site. We’ve a lot of really useful information but if you can’t find it, then it’s useless.

You might notice a new style creeping in. I feel it’s more readable and I’m gradually updating as I go along. It all takes time but I think it’s worth it.

Val’s popped some articles up on drying foods. There’s one on drying fruit & vegetables along with one on drying herbs. She’s putting specific instructions into the recipes section as she goes along. One thing she wanted me to mention was that if you find yourself with a load of cheap Satsuma’s after Christmas or the shop’s throwing out some you can make marmalade at any time of year. Making marmalade.

There will be more coming over the week and I’ll announce them here.